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NINTH THOUSAND. 



ASBIRY PARK -^ OCEAN GROVE 



V\7"ITH THEIR 



POINTS OF INTEREST. 



TPTTRTY ILLT^STRATIOXS 



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Bv Geo. F. Bacon. 



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NEWARK, N. J. 



COPYRIGHT 



MERCANTILE PUBLISHENG COMPANY. 

1892. 



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INTRODUCTION 

It has been said ihat every sea-shore resort is "a 
more or less successful copy of a more or less uninter- 
esting original." but the originator of that remark could 
never have visited Asbury Park, for this town is so far from being a 
copy of other sea-shore resorts that it is absolutely unique, and stands 
to-day the only community of the kind in the country. 
"'I'here is but one Asbury Park in the world," say those who have trav- 
elled all over this " little immensity " called the earth, and the more closely 
the character of the town is investigated the more evident will it become 
that such is literally the case. 
Asbury Park is uni(|ue in situation, unique in arrangement and character of streets, unique in govern- 
ment, and unique as regards its combination of metropolitan conveniences and country simplicity and 
healthfulness. As a sanitarium it offers all the advantages derivable from an exceptionally healthful 
situation and an intelligent, impartial and thorough enforcement of hygienic regulations, based upon the 
latest apjiroved i)rinciples of sanitary science and going to make up a sanitary code which is unequalled bv 
that of any other American community. As a pleasure-resort it appeals, as no other resort does, to those 
who appreciate liberty without license, and that hearty sociability which never degenerates into undue 
familiarity. As a permanent home it holds out unparalleled inducements to those seeking a place of 
residence which shall combine the advantages afforded by such city conveniences as electric-light.s, gas- 
lights, electric-cars, free mail delivery, etc., with a quietude, purity of air and water, absence of objection- 
able elements in the ]3opulation, and other desirable features to a degree that no city can rightfully make 
claim to. Where can be found another secular beach-resort where " cheap Johnism " is absolutelv prohib- 



4 ASBURY PARK AXD ITS IVIXTS OF IXTEKEST. 

iled ? Where can be found another village of 4,000 people which is so situaled, equipped and policed as 
to be viruially one vast sanitarium? Where can be found another community so governed as to secure 
" liie greatest good of the greatest number," to an equal degree ? Truly, " there 's but one Asbury Park 
in the world," and so admirable as a whole are the results which have been attained hire, that the town — or 
rather the " borough," to give it its legal title — is well woilhy the caieful study ol the social philosopher. 




(MlPlJf.'W! 




SECOND AVENUE FROM THE BOARD WALK. 



siTLATiox am:) surroundings. 

Notwithstanding that more than 100,000 persons visit Asbury Park for a more or less extended 
season every summer, there are still many who know the place bv reputation only and have verv hazv 
ideas as to its situation and surroimdings. 

For their benefit it may be staled that Asburv Park is situated on the most easterly portion of the 
Yew Jersey coast: forty miles south from New York, "as the crow flies; " about tiftv miles almost due 
east from Trenton ; and about sixty-six miles east and porth from Philadelphia. By rail it is distant 
fifty-one miles from New- York; the express time being about an hour and a-half and the piice of a 
single ticket being Si. 20: but a round trip ticket is sold for Si. 85. It niav also be leached in summer 
by boat to Long Branch and thence by rail, Asbury Park being five miles south from that famt us beach- 
resort. 

.\sbury Park is eighty-five miles from Philadelphia by rail : the express time is two and a quarter hours 
and the single fare is $2.25. but round trip tickets are sold as low as $2.50. The railroad service from 
New York and intermediate points is furnished by the Central Railroad Coni|)nny of New Jersev, and 
by ihe Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and from Philadelphia and intermediate points by the Pennsyl- 
vania and the Reading Railroad Companies; but all these companies use the tracks of the New York 
and Long Branch Railroad. The facilities are admirable, the road-bed being of the highest class, 
the rolling-stock of the best, and the service frequent, accurate and conveniently timed; but the ]3rices 
for passage and for freight are a little high when compared with those quoted at other important stations. 



ASBC'R]' PARK A.y/) /7'S POfXTS OF /.\T/iRI-:ST. 5 

and tl)cic slioiild ho an early and radical readjustment of them. Some idea of the Miaf;nitiide of the 
summer tratlic iiere may be gained from tlie fact that tiie passenger receipts at this station often aggregate 
$2,000 and tile freight receipts Si, 000 in a single day. The grounils connected with tlie station are the 
most spacious and most attractive on tlie railroad, and the station itself is a large and conveniently 
arranged structure, but as regards beauty it is far surpassed by the North Asbury Park station, a 
handsome stone building, completed in 1892, and situated nearly half a mile north from the main or 
Asburv Park and Ocean Grove sl.ition. 




METHODIST EPISCOPAL. 



ZION METHODIST. EPISCOPAL. 
PRESBVTERIAX. AND CATHOLIC. 



PRESBYTERIAN' (WEST.MINSTERi 



North .\sburv Park already contains many fine residences and is destined to become the aristocratic 
portion of the town, although in other portions of it one may also find so-called "cottages" that in 
elegance and beauty are matclied in but very few watering-places. 



6 ASBL'KV PARK AXD ITS POIXl'S OF IXTEREST. 

ASBURY PARK AS A WINTER-RESORT. 

At first thought it seems decidedly odd that a town offering almost unequalled advantages as a summer- 
resort should also hold out many and important advantages as a winter home, and it is not surprising that 
many who have experienced the grateful coolness of Asbury Park at times when residents of places a few 
miles inland were fairly sweltering under the burning rays of the summer sun, should laugh at the idea of 
Asbury being warmer than its inland neighbors during the period "when the arctic wind doth blow," and 
our old but erratic friend, Jack Frost, comes to the front. Yet such is the fact; and observations e.xtend- 
ing over several years show that Asbury Park is just about as much warmer than New York and Philadel- 
phia in winter as it is cooler than those cities in summer, the temperature averaging about eight degrees 
warmer in winter and about eight degrees cooler in summer. 

Just why the winter climate of Asbury Park is so mild is something of a mystery; or rather the 
mildness is accounted for in several different ways, some ascribing it to the influence of the Gulf Stream, 




COf)k'MAN AVENUE FROM CORNER OF MAIN STREET. 



some to that of the ocean as a whole, and some to the absence of conditions favorable to the long 
continuance of northerly and northwesterly winds. But " were reasons as plenty as blackberries," they 
would be of no special importance to the average man, for he is interested in results rather than causes, 
and the results at Asbury are ih.Tt, as a rule, winter is long in coming and quick in going; frost seldom 
penetrates ninre than a few inches into the ground; snow stavs but a ver\' little wliile ; and ice more 
than four or five inches thick is a raritv even in the most severe winters. Some of the residents stoutly 
maintain that the winter sun shines here with special brigiitness and fervor, and throws out genial heat 
even during the time when elsewhere " as the days begin to lengthen the cold begins to strengthen ; " and 
doubtless they are right, to a certain e.xtent at least, for the exceptionally pure atmosphere of this favored 
locality contains no smoke, steam or dust to intercept the health-giving rays of Old Sol, and in the porous 
and perfectly drained soil lurks no cold moisture to counteract the warming effects of the bright sunshine. 



L 



.(.SV^TAT r.lKK .\Xn fTS rO/.VTS CV- /.\/7iA'/:S/. 7 

Of course, no claim is made that Asbury Pari« ec|uais or even approaches such scinitropical re<;ions 
as Florida in ihe highness of ils winter temperature; but on the other hand, the winter sojourner here is 
more positively assured of comfort than if he stopped at the average Florida resort, for the houses at 
Asbury are much more thoroughly constructed, they are equipped with apparatus which guarantees 
the attainment of any desired degree of heat during even the severest " blizzard "' which may chance to 
occur; and blow high or blow low. rain or shine, cold or hot, the tourist is sure of comfortable quarters. 

How is it in Florida during 
thu "cold sj^ells" which have 
so frequently visited (hat region 
of late years? Let such of our 
readers as have "been there" and 
have shivered and shook, and 
longed for " a real house and 
a real steam-radiator," as one 
very much disgusted Yankee 
tourist put it, answer for them- 
selves. 

Another respect in which 
.\sbury Park is immeasurably 
superior to southern resorts is 
in general healihfulness. There 
is positively no malaria here — 
ind this statement is made with- 
out reservation or qualification 
of any kind. Dig into the 
ground as deep as you please, 
at any point and at any time of 
year, and no disease-breeding 
germs will arise. This is be- 
cause the soil is very light and 
porous in character, because there are no swampy s|)ots within the borough, and because the many natural 
advantages for the disposal of waste matter have been most admirably and completely supiilemented by a 
system of sewerage which is simply unequalled. Add to this the fact that no other community, large or 
small, in the country is governed by so eflficient and carefully prepared a code of hygienic regulations, and 
you will begin to understand why .Asbury Park is never the subject of one of those profanely styled 
"mysterious dispensations of Providence," which sweep away scores, hundreds and even thousands by 
the effects of som^ of the numerous "(ilih diseases." as they are now called by physicians. 

In the matter of sanitary regulations, .Asbury Park is at least a quarter of a century ahead of any 
other community in .America ; and before you dispute that statement, point out if you can another town, 
village or city, which maps out the plumbing and diainnge system of every building wiihin its limits and 
holds its sanitary record open to the inspection of all interested parties. Of what practical use is this ? 
Well, suppose you think of engaging hoard at a certain hotel or a certain boarding-house, or of renting a 
certain cottage at .Asburv Park. The terms and the situation and equipment of ilie house are satis- 
factory; perhaps it commands a fine view and is a handsome, commodious structure. But how about its 
sanitary condition ? How about such prosaic but highly important details as the character of the drainage, 
the location of closets, the number and efficiency of the "traps," the system of piping, etc.? In any 
other town you would have to dispense with information on these points or accept what was told you by 
landlord, owner, and perhaps by neighbors. In .Asbury Park you call upon or write to the Board of 
Health; and are cheerfully and gladly given detailed and absolutely accurate information. 

There is not the least suspicion of what is popularly and graphically termed " funny business," in this 
matter. The largest hotel and the smallest cottage are served precisely the same ; and whether you 




U. S. LlKE-SAVl.NG STATION. 



8 ASBi'KV PARK AXD ITS POfXTS Of IXTEREST. 

engage board at S5.00 a clay or at S5.00 a week )ou have only yourself to thank if the hygienic service 
prove unsatisfactory. But there is practically no clanger of that, for the same code that provides for 
reliable information on hygienic matters, provides for such strict regulation of plumbing and drainage 
work, and for so frequent and rigid a system of house to house inspection, that there is really no oppor- 
tiinisv for the practice of "scamp-work" on the part of the plumbers, or for tiie exercise of the penny wise 
and pound foolish policy which some owners would otherwise follow. "Every new plumbing system, 







FOL'RTH AVENUE. 

including those altered or extended, must be tested by the plumber by the air test (five pounds pressure 
to the square inch) in ihe presence of an authorized officer of the Board of Health: all defective joints 
must be made tight and other openings made impervious to gases. Defective pipe must be removed and 
replaced by sound pipe/' Mr. Porter L. Lippincott is chief Health Inspector, and wiih the aid of a 
suitable number of assistants he enforces the code without fear or favor and makes it decidedly warm, not 
to sav hot, for those who wilfulh- trv to evade its provisions. At nearly all southern resorts the well- 
informed visitor knows full well that deadly diseases lie, as it were, in wait, needing only favorable climatic 
conditions to cause them to spring into destructive activity. There is no skeleton in Asbury Park's 
closet: nothing to hide and nothing to fear. Visit the place at any time of year: peer into odd 
corners, penetrate the inmost recesses of public and private premises, and you will find no misightly 
garbage heap, no ill-smelling corners, and no disease-inviting caverns. There is not a cesspool in the 
borough: the emptying of waste-water upon the ground is absolutely forbidden and severely punished ; 
there is an abundant supply of the purest of water, and the wide streets and spacious house-lots do much 
to maintain that purity of air and that abundance of light so essential to health and yet so rarely found in 
communities of any magnitude. 

Another claim which Asbin\- Park can make as a winter lesort is in connection with the niunber. 
variety and beauty of its local and suburban dri\es, these being wonderfully attractive, and being so 
numerous and so capable of agreeable variation that their attractiveness is inexhaustible. The lover of 
ocean views may drive along just above the beach on a hard, wide road for miles: the admirer of wood- 
land and "country " scenery may find it in great profusion while driving inland among the health-breath- 
ing pine forests and pleasant farm-lands. 

The sea in summer is smiling and lovely : the sea in winter is more often grandly beautiful, and yet 
there are days in the very dead of winter when it stretches out an almost unruffled sheet of purest blue, 
and softly caresses the white and shining sands, which, perhaps in a few hours, it will lash with terrible 
force and heap up into long mounds only to finally smooth them down again to the hard, shelving and 



,;.s7.7A'r r.iRK .\.\n lis roixjs of /\/i:/<i:S'r. 



y 





PUBLIC SCHOOL. 



regular surface wiili wliicli sum- 
mer visitors are familiar. The 
beautiful sunsets, the gorgeous 
elTtcis at sunrise, and the ever- 
changing and ever-charming 
sky, marine, and landscape 
scenes which have done so much 
toward building up Asbury's 
great fame as a summer-resort, 
are present here in winter also, 
and what somebody has called 
"the sleep-compelling air, ihc 
appetite-forcing atmosphere" is 
at least as prominent a feature 
of ihc winter as of the sunnner 
Asljury. On this accoimt and 
because of its cheeiful and re- 
fined society, its accessibility 
ami i;s excellent moral tone. As" 
bury Park may be called an 
almost ideal place of winter res- 
idence for the jaded business 
man, especially if his interests 
are centered in the metropolis, and he cannot see his way clear to cut loose from business entirely, for New- 
York can be reached in a comparatively short time, and there are many trains in both directions daily 
throughout the vear. One very serious disadvantage connected with taking one's family to the South 
during the cold weather is the total absence of educational facilities: at Asbury Park the public schools 
are excellent and there are several first-class private schools in the town. Not another community of 
equal population in the State approaches Asbury Park as regards religious facilities : there is an excel- 
lent public library, an abundance of cultuied and truly lefined society tor \oinig people and adults, and, in 
short, nothing is wanting that 
would tend to make life worth liv- 
ing. No intoxicants are sold, 
rowdyism is unknown, and a lady 
mav traverse the public streets at 
any hour without fear of insult or 
even annoyance, and, unfonu 
nately, that can be truly said of 
but very few other communities of 
equal size in all America. 

The expense of winter life 
here is but small, for rents are 
very low, groceries, provisions and 
other commodities are sold at 
reallv "bottom" prices, and the 
charges at hotels and boarding- 
houses are uniformly moderate. 
Asbury Park is steadily gaining in 
favor as a winter resort : half a 
<lozen hotels are open now in win- 
ter, to every one that was open a thk i.irr.'vrv. 




lO 



ASBCK)- PARK A.\7) /TS PO/XTS OF IX T ERE ST. 



decade a^o at that season, and one need not possess luiusiial powers of prophecy to foretell the day when 
Asburv shall be a city in population, in winter as well as in summer, and shall at least share the honors 
with the older but in manv respects less desirable vvniier-resorts which now enliven the Atlantic seaboard. 

ASBURV PARK AS A SUMMER-RESORT. 



To many persons a description of Asbury I'ark as a summer-resort will appear as needless and super- 
fluous as an eulogy of the grandeur and sublimity of Niagara Falls or an account of the wealth and mag- 
nificence of New York City. But a description of Asbury Park containing no mention of its summer 
aspect, would be absurdly inadequate, and so, althotigh we have no idea of giving anything like a detailed 

account of warm weather happenings 
here, let us strive in a few words to tell 
what the summer Asbury is, and how- it 
differs from every one of the almost in- 
numerable other sea-shore resorts of our 
great country. 

To begin with, it possesses the 
finest beach and gives opportunity for 
the most enjoyable surf-bathing on the 
famous New Jersey coast. During the 
summer months the water is so agree- 
abl\ warm, the sand is so smooth and 
firmly packed, and the surf is almost in- 
variably so lively and at the same time 
so regular and so free from " undertow," 
that even the weakest invalid who can 
stand surf-balhing at all, can bathe here 
with pleasure and profit, w-hile the 
strongest swimmer is given abundant 
opportunity to display his strength and 
skill and torf\el in old father Neptune's 
vigorous arms. 

A great deal of utter nonsense and 
ninnv exaspeialing lies have been writ- 
ten concerjiing the restrictions upon 
bathers here, and some of the news- 
papers, which are the most zealous in 
reproving (and incidentally advertising) 
indecent bathing-dresses elsewhere, are 
never tired of poking alleged fun at what they are pleased to call the " absurd propriety" of Asbury Park 
bathing-costumes. But what are the facts in the case? Simply these. Decency is insisted upon; 
indecency or anv approach to it, is promptly detected and as promptly ended, and. if necessary, punished. 
There is not one paragraph, one sentence or one word in the few and simple bathing regulations to 
which anv reasonable and wholesome-minded person can fairly take e.xxeption ; they are enforced strictly 
and iinpartiallv, but intelligently and as gently as circumstances will permit, by an efficient police force 
under connnand of Caleb T. Bailey, than whom no more genial, popular and pleasant, but at the same 
time determined, capable and efficient an officer can be fountl in the Slate. The result is that Asbury 
Park is one of the few |: laces where surf-bathing is largely practised, where one may walk along the beach 
at anv time and in anv company without having to ignore sights and soinids that should never be allowed 
to make themselves manifest in public. 




(IN THE SA-'DS. 



ASBL'/iV PARK AXP /TS IV/XTS OF /XTJiR/iSF. 



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There are more liian 2,500 bath-houses al A>l)uiy I'.irU, aiul eve-ry provision is nuulc for the safety, 
comfort and enjoyment of bathers. 

Hut perhaps'the most noticeable and gralifyin- fml.ire of Asburv Park's beach is iho entire absence 

of loiul-mouiiied liawkers, "popcorn- 
men," and tiie rest of that vociferous 
and higlily objectionable famil)-. DouIm- 
less many of our readers have sighed for 
a place where they could stroll and scan 
tile sea line and their fellow promenad- 
ers, and listen to the roar and rush of 
the surf without being rudely disturbed 
by importunate demands that they buy 
this, that, or the other trash, or '• trow 
der ring," or ''shoot der rifle," or do 
some other thing for which they felt not 
the sligliicst inclination. Well, such a 
place is .\sbury Park. The entire ocean 
front with its "plaza, pavilions, bath- 
houses, broad plank walk and other 
great and costly conveniences belongs 
to "founder Bradley," and signs back 
of the crest of the beach announce that 
" no huckster, peddler, etc., is allowed 
east of this line." And this rule (like 
all others at this efficiently governed and 
policed resort) is strictly enforced. 
One of Asbmy Park's proudest boasts 
is that it is entirely free from nioscjuitos 
at all seasons, (a freedom so exceptional 
among summer-resorts in general and 
New Jersey resorts in particular, that it 
is no wonder that new-comers laugh at 
the assertion although it is literally and 

e.xacily true.) but the freedom of its beach from the peddling fraternity is fully as gratifying to most 
visitors. The thinnest gauze will repel mosquitoes, but nothing short of the strong arm of the law will 
keep peddleis at a distance. 

It is ea.sy for even a stranger to perceive sometiiiiig of the pride and aftVction with which Mr. Bradley 
looks upon Asbury Park, for many evidences of these feelings are to be found on every side, and particu- 
larly along the water-front. 

A STROLL ALONG THE BEACH. 

Starting from Deal Lake, at the northern end of Asbury's beach, we pass along Ocean Avenue, as 
the broad thoroughfare nearest the sea is called, and soon come to a polished granite shaft resting on a 
massive unpolished pedestal, and inscribed, "Near this spot the large packet-ship 'New Era' was 
wrecked in 1854." This monument was erected by Mr. Bradley, not only as a memento of this terrible 
shipwreck, by which 300 li\es were lost, but also " to commemorate the fidelity of the life-saving crews, 
whose efficiency renders such a disaster at this day almost impossible." 

Mr. Bradley is a firm friend of the life-saving service, and so is one of .\sbury Park's resident minis- 
ters. Rev. S. Edward Young, who has worked long and faithfully to raise the wages and better the con- 
dition of the brave men connected with it, and whose etTorts now give most gratifying promise of soon 
being crowned with success. 







THE BATHING HOUR. 



12 



ASBCKV PAKK AXD ITS PlVXTS OF IXTEREST. 



("lose bv the " New Era " niDiuiinent is a genuine old " fiie-tub " or hand lire-engine, known as " Old 
W'.ishingion," and, as a conspicuous sign informs us, ''placed here as a phxylhing for children, with the 
recpiest that no unnecessary damage be done it." And a grand plaything it is, too, with its gay paint, its 
••practicable " brakes, and its fascinating valves and levers. It is "manned " by almost innumerable lads 
and lassies every pleasant day during the season, and is " worked '' in so vigorous and enthusiastic a 
fashion that its durability speaks volumes for the integrity and skill of its builders. "Old Washington" 
saw a good deal of hard service during its active da_\s and has an interesting history of its own. but it is 
safe to say that the good old machine was never before so thoroughly aiipreciateil and so higlilv praised 
.as it has been .since it was promoted to its present position. 



ik- *^ 




ri ri 



i M * ;rj;(. f '| | 










SEVENTH AVENUE. 



And the fact that it has been set apart for the use of the children affords an indication of the prevail- 
ing spirit at Asbury Park, for here to a greater extent than at any other sea-shore resort with which we 
are familiar, are the rights, the tastes, and the fancies of children lecognized and catered to. They recip- 
rocate by giving this beautiful beacli the very first place in their affections, before all other resorts which 
they may have visited. 

Asbury Park is really an almost ideal home for children, for its healthfulness, its unlimited opportuni- 
ties for amusement, its excellent moral tone and its exceptional educational facilities, all combine to give 
it a position in the very foremost rank. 

Some distance beyond " Old Washington " we find suspended from a stout beam projecting over the 
beach an object which never fails to e.xcite curiosity and interest when seen for the first time. It is a 
great iron ball, several times as big as a man's head, attached to a strong but battered chain.- Both chain 
and ball are not only incrnsted with, but fairly honey-combed by rust; they look as if they might ha\e 
laid beneath the sea for years, before being placed in their present position; and so indeed tliev did, for 
they served to anchor one of those apparently light and fragile, but really jjonderous and massive buo\ s 
with which our harbors are studded. 

On the rust-eaten surface of the ball is an inscription made with white |3aint, but now so scratched 
and discolored that it needs sharp eyes and considerable patience to make out that it reads: "Neptune's 
watch-charm, presented by Jupiter." And truly, the resemblance in form of this 1,400-pound ball and 
chain to a conventional watch-charm is almost exact. 

The picturesque appearance of the beach is greatly heightened by the presence here and there of 
disabled but stout-looking row-boats, placed just above harm's way at time of high-water and bearing 
such significant names as " Id.i Lewis," "Cirace Darling," and " New Era." Besides these purely orna- 



.IS/U'A-)- IWRK AXn //S /V/.VTS OF LXT/iRliSf. 



I 



mental crafi, are otliers less picturesque, but ininieasurably more sea-\vonli\' am! efticient, which in con- 
nection with the frequent beach patrol and otiier less noteworthy precautions, lender drowning accidents 
|iracticallv unknown iiere. Is is said that bathing in the surf is more generally practised at Asbury Park 
than at any other resort on this coast, and certainly the facilities here, extensive as they are, are some- 
times quite inadequate to meet ihe demand upon them. It is easy enough to accoinii for this condition 
of affairs, foi surf-bathing is so enjoyable that our beaches would be lairly swarnniig with bathers from. 




i i ii fij'flijiWB ii i i itiimii H minmrt) 




THE FISHING PIER. 



Julv to October were it not for the coldness of the water, the danger of the sport, and the meagreness oF 
the bathing facilities at many points, and ;is .Asbury bathing is free from all these drawbacks its popularity 
is self-e.\planatory. 

.Another very popular amusement here is fishing. The opportunities for engaging in this sometimes 
la/.v but always fascinating sport, are excellent and varied, for fresh-water as well as salt-water fishing is 
available here — the famous lakes of this region containing fish many in kind and reasonably abundant in 
quantity. 

But still, salt-water fishing is the more popular of the two. and whether you sail with a gay party in 
some one of Asbury's stout yachts to the fishing-banks, or charter a sail-or row-boat and "go it alone," off 
shore, or try your luck from the fishing pier, you are as sure of good sport as you can be when dependent 
upon so notoriouslv uncertain an occupation as fishing. Asbury Park's fishing pier is one of her most 
cherished and popular institutions, and although severely buffeted and mauled e\ery winter, it comes up' 
smiling every spring, and after sundrv replanking and other repairing, resumes business at the old stand 
and tries to get even with old father Neptmie by aiding in the abduction of some of his innumerable and 
scaly children 



J4 



AS/U-Ji)- PARK AXD ITS POIXTS OF INTEREST. 



A o-reat variety of fish is caught from the pier, not including such trash as sculplns and sea-robins, 
which no true angler will admit are fish at all, but a distinctly lower order of creatures to be named and 
otherwise described in language more forcible than elegant. But the reigning fish of this locality, the 
monarch, before whose cold stare all other members of the finny tribe must hang their diminished heads 
— is the bass, and some splendid specimens of this royal fish are caught from the pier every week during 
the season. Five-pounders are not uncommon: ten-pounders are caught quite frequently, and fifteen and 

even twenty-pounders lia\e been known 
to more or less reluctantly accept an 
urgent invitation to come in out of the 
wei and make their ifebiif before Asbury 
I'.irk societ)- : but these latter gentry- 
are almost as rare as genuine Italian 
counts in America, and when one of 
them is captured the lucky captor 
"braces up" so perceptiblv as to add 
at least an inch to his normal height, 
and is admired and deeply but secretly 
envied of his fellows for fully a fortnight. 
Successful fishermen frequently 
have themselves and the fish (or, more 
properly, the fish and themselves) photo- 
graphed, so that they may present 
ocular proof of their prowess to doubting 
friends long after the victim of their 
wiles has become incorporated with them 
in the form of a succulent " bake " or a 
savory chowder. .'\nd right here comes 
in a test of truthfulness before which 
the rack and the thumbscrews of the 
ancient torturer fade into insignificance. 
The nearer an object is held to the 
camera the larger it appears ; hence by 
holding a fish at arm's length in front of 
you it may be made to look almost as 
big as yourself. Our Asbury fishermen 
are very conscientious, as fishermen go, 
yet we have yet to hear of a case where the fish was held the merest trifle behind the line of the body. 

A little way south of the fishing pier is the life-size, bronze figure of a soldier in full uniform and 
with the familiar "army overcoat " on, standing on a stone pedestal inscribed, "Dedicated to the New- 
Jersey Volunteers." The pose of the figure is very easy and natural — so natural in fact that from a little 
distance landward it looks just like a man wearing a "mackintosh," standing on a seat and looking stead- 
fastly out to sea. Apropos of this deceptive statue a story is told of an Englishman who was visiting 
Asbury Park for the first time, in company with an .-Vmerican thoroughly familiar with the place. John 
Bull had been holding forth upon the hackneyed subject of American "nerves," and had just asserted; 
that not an American could be found who would not " jump " at a sudden unexpected noise. " Do you 
see that man there?" said Jonathan, jwinting to the bronze figure some hundreds of yards away. "Yes." 
" Well, I'll wager that I can steal up within a yard of him, fire my revolver, and he won't move an inch." 
" Done." So the American crept forward while the Englishman stayed behind so as to avoid all unneces- 
sary noise. It was just about sunrise ; the streets were deserted and almost perfect silence prevailed. 
" Bang ! " went the pistol. The bronze figure didn't move a muscle. 

We lia\-e reached the end of our walk, for the soldier is situated very near \\'esley Lake, beyond 




A GOOD CATCH. 



ASBC'KV PARK AXD ITS J'OIXTS OF IXIJiKJiST. 13 

which is Ocean Grove, but before we separate let us read this inoilcsi-appcai ing sign, (or it tells tiic story' 
of Asbury's development in very few words : 

"In 1869 Asbury Paris was a wilderness without house or inhabitant. It was assessed at $15,000. 
In 18S5 it contained more than 800 houses and was assessed at more than $2,000,000." To wliich we 
may adtl that it now contains nearly 1,000 houses and is assessed at more than $2,500,000. 




I 1 I ! a 







W,. .;.-i\>» • 



AaUtK\ A\ i.XL'E. 



THE I'LAXK WALK. 

In our "stroll along the beach" we purposely omitted reference to the plank walk, for this is so 
unique, so important and so popular, as to merit special and extended mention. 

Were you ever at Asbury Park ? If not you have no adequate idea of the possibilities of a beach 
promenade, and your education on the stibject of plank walks is sadly incomplete. Imagine a prome- 
nade from 50 to 100 feet in width, and more than a mile in length, exclusive of that portion within the 
limits of Ocean Grove; the two walks being jiractically one however, and aggregating nearly two miles in 
length. On this promenade the residents of " the twin cities by the sea " and the many excursionists 
whose stav is confined to a few hours, meet and commingle in a gaily dressed and picturesque throng — a 
throno- so great that at times. de--i5ite its hundred feet of width, the wooden way is so choked as to render 
progression ditlicidt unless at a snail-like pace. Here you see everybody and his wife, the lively maiilen 
and the gr.nve elder; the worried business man and the vacuous and bored devotee of fashion; young 
and old, stout and thin ; saint and sinner — a motley crowd indeed, but still averaging much better in 
o-eneral appearance and much higher in character than such a promiscuous assemblage as any other popu- 
lar shore-resort can show, for there is no encouragement for the vicious, the drunken and the immoral to 
visit this beach, while on the other hand there are many special features here to attract those who are 
quiet and refined in their tastes, who do not find sobriety and a holiday incompatible, and who are not 
the less lively or sociable because Ihey are self-respecting and courteous to others. Without the least 
disparagement, direct or implied, of other nationalities, it may be said that one of the chief recommenda- 
tions of the typical Asbury Park throng is that it is distinctively .American — and by this we mean not so 



i6 



ASBURY PARK AXP ITS POIXfS OF /.V/'PKPST. 



imich that it is American by bivth as Anieiican by training, by tasle and by clioici-. Kicli and poor are 
here, of course; ihe handsonieiy and the sliabbily dressed ; ibe exclusive and ilie deniocralic, but as a 
whole llie assemblage is fairly well-lo-do, suitably costumed, and frankly sociable ; and nobly does it 
represent the great middle class, which in republican America as in monarchial England constitutes the 
strength and bulwark of the nation. 

THE ^L^^■L'FAC■rURlNG INTERESTS AND PROSPECl'S. 

There are very few villages having a permanent population of 4,000 which do not contain a single 
factory, but such is the case with Asbury Park, and such will doubtless remain the case until outlying sec- 




DESTRUCTION OF PLANK WALK HV H1(,U M kh LN 1S90. 



tions shall be annexed, for deeds of land in Asbury Park " proper " contain ]irovisions forbidding thj 
erection of factory buildings upon them — the idea, of course, being to avoi.'. the noise, dirt and other 
evils which attend the operation of certain kinds of factories. But there are two sides to this as to every 
other question ; a community which aspires to become something more than a mere pleasure and health 
resort should encourage by all legitimate methods the founding of establishments affording remunerative 
employment to men and women ; and of late years the Asbury Park Board of Trade has been agitating 
this matter; has caused one large concern to locate here and has prepr.red the nay for the coming of 
others. Of course there has been strong opposition to this policy from certain quarters, and it has 
been received with languid indifference by some others of the first-named class, believing that it will 
injure hotel interests and the indifferent ones denying that any special results, good or bad, will follow 
the introduction of factories; but it is difficult to see how the establishment of carefully selected factories 
in Asbury Park's suburbs can possibly injure the |ilace as a temparary or permanent home, while on the 
other hand, iliev will add greatly to the wealth and resources of the community and enable expensive pub- 
lic improvements to be carried out without any great drain upon the resources of any individual. The 
borough of Asbury Park extends from Deal Lake on the north to Wesley Lake on the south, and from 
the ocean on the east to the New York and Long Branch R. R. on the west. On the opposite or 
western side of the railway begins "West Park," for all ]3ractical purposes a jiart of Asbury Park and yet 
free from restrictions (excepting such as may seem expedient to the individual owners of land) concerning 



J.SV.Y'A'r r.lKK AM) /TS /V/.V/S OF J\J/:I</:ST. 17 

the use that shall be made of the territory. Or in otiier words, yon may build a factory, ol such a char- 
acter that it shall not become a public nuisance, within little more than a stone's throw of Asbury Park 
station, or you may build one at Bradley Beach, at West Grove, or at other of Asbury I'ark's suburbs, and 
so share all the railway, mail, educational, religions, hygienic and general advantaiies of the place, anfll 
secure first-class operatives at wages lower than would be accepted at cities and mo>t large towns, wheie 
the cost of living is higher. The chief need of the majority of the resident population of Asbury Park 
and vicinitv is fairlv remunerative emplovment dining the winter months. 




FIRST AVKNLE. 



During the summer, everything is "booming," — a tem])orary jiopulation of more than 30.000 must 
be lodged and fed and amused: and great excursion paities sometimes aggregating twelve or fifteen 
thousand in a single day, must bi taken care of. There is no lack of employmsnt then : not only the 
hotels but all private residences which receive guests are filled to the limit of their capacity ; the beach is 
black with people; the vast plank promenade is swarming with humanity; the broad streets are alive 
with vehicles of every kind ; the smooth and spacious concrete walks are all too small to accommodate 
the throng of pedestrians. All is bustle and activity, and well-paid work may be had for the asking. 

But with the end of the season a "grand transformation scene" takes place, and although every 
year now the season begins earlier and ends later, still for more than half the twelve-month the magnifi- 
cent facilities of this ocean city are but partially utilized. There are two ways in which this very natural 
but unsatisfactory condition of affairs can be remedied: by the development of the region as a winter- 
resort and bv its development as a manufacturing centre. At first thought these methods may seem 
antagonistic to one another, but they are so only in seeming, for nothing is surer than that the possibilities 
of Asbury Park as a winter pleasure and health resort can be developed without the least interference 
with the manufacturing possibilities of the suburbs ; and the openings the latter offer for the highly advan- 
tageous establishment of factories can be utilized without the least injury to the other interests of this 
region. 



i8 



ASBr/^y PARK AXD ITS POIXTS OF IXTEREST. 



Siuiaied about niiduav between two of the largest cities on the continent and possessing first-class 
facililies for ihe transportation of passengers and freigiit ; having isanking facilities equal to the best : an 
excellent governnient; a low rate of taxation; an abundant supply of the very best class of help at low 




MATTISO.N AVENUE. 



rate of wages during the time when most industries are most tiourishing— in the fall, winter and early 
spring — Asbiiry Park offers solid and exceptional advantages to manufacturers, and present indications 



are that they will very soon be largely utilized. 



EARLY HISTORY. 

It seems a trifle absurd to speak of the "early history" of a place not a quarter of a century old, 
and yet the beginnings of Asbury Park clearly form its early history, and brief mention of some of them 
is essential to an understanding of the present community. 

It is often said that Asbury Park is an outgrowth of Ocean Grove, and this is so far true that it is 
probable that if there were no Ocean Grove there would be no Asbury Park eitlier, fur, as one writer 
puis it : 

'•The land was bought and platted by a capitalist who was moved to do so by the fear that it migiit 
fall into hands inimical to the religious objects held in view at the great cam|>meeting grounds just 
oeiow. He named it after Bishop Asbury, the pioneer bishop of the Methodist Church in America, and 
his title deeds [irohibit liquor making or liquor selling. Extensive improvements of the wilderness of 
sand and jiines were at once undertaken, and the excellent management exercised by its promoters has 



ASBTK)- r.lKK AXJ) / JS /V/XfS Of IXTEKIiST. 



19 



met with a large and wcll-tleserved success. The suiiiiiier population now reaches 30.000, and a beauti- 
ful village, with hard and thoroughly drained roads, good sidewalks and paths, hundreds of hotels, busi- 
ness houses, boarding-houses and cottages, banks, churches, news|)apers, an opera-house, a library and 
lecture hall, electric-lights, public water, and a plank walk a mile long on the sea-beach, connected with 
the esplanade of Ocean Grove, has arisen where iweniy years ago was little or nothing." 

The " capitalist " spoken of 
in the fortgoing e.\tract is Mr. 
James A. Bradley, the head of 
a great brush manufacturing 
concern in New York City. He 
purchased, in 1S70. the first lot 
ever sold of the Ocean Grove 
property, and being in poor 
health he went down to Ocean 
Grove and " camped out," in 
the hope that the sea air and 
tlie breezes from the pine woods 
with which all this country was 
then covered, would invigorate 
him and steady his shaking 
nerves. Nor was his hope 
groimdless, for strength and 
hajipiness were soon restored 
to him, and with their recovery 
came a strong love for the 
place wliere he had regained 
them, and an ardent desire 
took possession of him to 
keep it from falling into the hands of those who, from carelessness or design, would suffer it to be 
degraded to the level of the ordinary beach-resori. The tract known as Ocean Grove, e.xtending 
from the ocean to the Long Branch turnpike, and from Fletcher Lake to Wesley Lake, was secure enough, 
it being held by the Camp-meeting .Association : but the land on the other side of Wesley Lake was a sort 
of unknown region, an extensive mass of tangled vegetation and shifting sands, and, as described by 
Mr. James A., or as he is always called hereabouts, '"founder" Bradley, " Five hundred acres of wilderness 
and barren sand waste, without a house or inhabitant, and not a foot of cultivated soil on the whole 

tract." 

Although assessed for but Sis.ooo. the land increased remarkably in value when negotiations toward 
its purchase were begun, and it was stipulated that the buyer must take the whole or none and must pay 
$90,000— or only 600 per cent, of the assessed valuation. The Ocean Grove society decided by vote that 
it had all the land it could attend to and so Mr. Bradley had to buy the whole property himself and unas- 
sisted. As the possibilities of the site became more apparent it was freely predicted that the purchaser 
would reap an enormous profit on his investment, and so no doubt he would have, had money-making been 
his chief object, but this was so far from being the case that his very first important announcement con- 
cerning the sale of lots within the terrirory was declared to be suicidal from a financial point of view even 
by most of those who applauded his motives in making it. The announcement was that every deed would 
contain absolute prohibition of the manufacture and sale of liquor on the premises to which it gave a title. 
" Oh, you can never make a success of a seaside resort so near New York if you abide by that rule," said 
many to Mr. Bradley. But he was fully determined to siick to it. be the consequences what they may, 
and the outcome proved and proves that liquor selling can be very nearly if not absolutely prevented if one 
goes to work in the right way. 




RESIDENCE OF MR. MIL.\N ROSS. 



20 



ASBURV PARK AXD ITS J'OIXTS OF IXTEKESr. 
THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS. 



Another example of the noii-moneyniaking spirit of the founder is the course taken in the sewerage 
quesiion, Asburv Park having been the first seaside-resort on the continent to adopt a perfect system of 
drainage. Tlie usual course at the average beach-resort has been to discharge sewage anywhere and 
svervwhere, trusting to the porous soil and the pure air from old ocean to avert the consequences of such 
carelessness (to use the mildest term by which it can be described). But that is not the way Mr. Bradley 




A BEACH AND OCEAN VIEW. 



does business. More than fifteen miles of street mains have been provided, to say nothing of house con- 
nection pipes, and there is not a cesspool in the entire borough. The sewage is discharged into the sea 
at a point many feet from the shore, and is so quickly and thoroughly dispersed through the vast body of 
water which receives it that not the least odor is at any time perceptible. 

Still another evidence of the careful avoidance of a " cheese-paring " policy is that afforded by the 
wide streets, spacious sidewalks and numerous squares and other open spaces of this model little city, and 
it has been truly said that " there will never be another seaside resort from Sandy Hook to Barnegat Inlet 
with as wide streets and open spaces as Asburv Park, because nearly all the land north and south of 
Asbury Park has been mapped out or is owned in smaller parcels than the original tract nf Asbury Park. ' 



AS/>C'K)' PARK .IXn //S PO/XTS OF /XTJiR/iSP 



21 



'Hie streets cross oach otiier ;U rij;lu angles, niui, with the exct-pUDii of several avenues which follow the 
shores of the boundary lakes, are "as straight as a die," and \ai_\' from 50 to 200 feet in width; those 
streets at right angles with the beach being at the least 100 feet wide — an advantage possessed by no 
other shore-resort in the Stale. Asa rule, the thoroughfares running |iarelkl witli the ocean are called 
streets and those at right angles with the ocean are called avenues; the most noteuorlhy exception being 
the noble '" Grand " avenue, 200 feet in width and extending from Wesley Lake to Deal Lake, about mid- 
way between ocean and railroad. 




WESLEY LAKE AND LAKE AVENUE HOTEL. 



There are about fifteen miles of streets, all of which are carefully graded, smoothly surfaced and well 
drained. The sidewalks of Asbury Park are doubtless the best possessed by any Cdnniinnity in the Slate. 
for every street is provided with them and tlie\- are p.Tved exclusively with concrete, blue-stone or brick ; 
concrete being by far the most conniiDii material used. 

Mentioning the streets brings to mind the street railway, which makes a complete circuit of the l)or- 
ough and can convev passengers within two blocks of any point in it. The motive |)Ower is electricity, 
which is furnished bv the company operating the railway, and some idea of the magnitude of the traffic over 
this line during the season may be gained from the fact that at the present writing the already large power 
plant is being increased by the addition of engines aggregating 6oo-horse power. This was the hrst street- 
car line in Monmouth County, and has been operated by electricity frjm the first. Extensions which will 
be consunnnated before the first of July, 1S92, will make this virtually a double-tracked road encircling the 
borough, and sufficient cars will be pro\-ided to full)- accommodate the immense rush of l>usiness during 
the season. 

Asbury Park was also the first community of the Monmouth County coast to adopt the electric-light, 
the Asbury Park Electric Light and Power Co. starting their machinery Jime 20, 1885. It comprised a 
50-horse power steam plant and a 45-light dynamo; and the growth of the business is best shown by the 
fact that the present plant aggregates 250-horse power, and is soon to be increased one-half. The com- 
pany utilize some 70 miles of the best insulated cop])er wire, and furnish arc and incandescent lights and 
powder. There is also an extensive gas-lighting system in o|)eration lure, and what with arc and incandes- 
cent electric-lamps and gas-lamps, the streets, stores, hotels and residences of Asbury Park are brilliantly 
illuininated. Oil lamps are used but little, and as the authorities are very active in preventing and pun- 
ishing the sale of kerosene below the legal standard, fires are of comjiaratively rare occurrence at Asbury 
Park, and when they do occur they are almost sure to be promptly squelched, for the fire department is one 
of the most efficient in the State and is aided bv a water svstem and hydrant service of which the residents 



22 ASIU'RY PARK .1X1) ITS JV/XJ'S OF IXfEREST. 

of tlic place may well feel proud. There are sixty hydrants advantageously scattered about the town, 
and as the water they deliver comes from a stand-pipe 125 feet in height, the pressure is so great that 
water may be thrown over anv building. But dependence is not placed entirely upon hydrant pressure by 
anv means: the fire apparatus including two first-class steam fire-engines, two chemical engines, hook and 
latider truck. fi\e hand-engines, ai;d miiiy water carts equipped with force pump and hose. 




THE RABY P.ARADE. 



The efficienc)' of the fire department lias been repeatedly proved by the doing of prompt, skilful and 
wonderfully efifeclive work under the most unfavorable conditions, and but one thing is lacking to make 
the .\sbnry Park fire service equal to that possessed bv any citv or town in the countrv, and that is an elec- 
tric fire-alarm telegraph. The general use of the telephone throughout the borough affords a comparatively 
quick and sure means of giving an alarm, and a big steam whistle and a resounding fire-bell soon tell 
everybody for miles around that a fire has been discovered ; but the weakness of the present system lies 
in the liability of delay in getting the news of a fire to headquarters, and as five minutes' work at the incep- 
tion of a blaze is generally more effective than an hour's work ten minutes later, it would pay the Asbury 
folks to introduce a reliable fire-alarm telegraph as soon as possible. 

The public-spirited Asbury Parkiie is disposed to boast, just a little, about the local water supply, and 
his boasting is very excusable, for verv few cities, to sav nothing of beach-resorts, have a water system that 
can compare wiih that of this communitv. 

Originally, wrater w'as obtained from driven wells, and almost anvwhere in the borough it is possible 
to obtain an unfailing supply of soft, clear and generally palatable ualer by driving a well to a moderate 
depth : but water from all such wells is apt to become contaminated, even when all necessary precautions 
are taken in the matter of drainage as is the case here, and this fact taken in connection with the great 



.ISJWK)' J'AKK AXn /JS POIAJS OF /XTF.R/iSr. 



-'3 



coiucniencc of a piped system of water supply caii>ecl the residents of the l'ari< to look about tiieni for a 
source from wiiicli they could force water into every house in tow^n. It was deemeil inexpedient to draw 
from the iatces or from any other surface supply, and as Mr. I'riah White had been very successful in 
experimenting with artesian wells in town, it was determined to follow the path lie had pointed out, and 
artesian wells were sunk at dilTerent points to a depth of from 400 to 600 feet. .Ml of them flow without 
pumping, but the discharge is greatly increased by a little judicious forcing. The wells are all capped 











Ul 



UlNDEKMICRE. STRANDED IN STORM OF .MARCH, 'i. 



and joined by 12-inch pipes which lead directly to the pumps, and the latter force the water into the stand- 
pipe and the street mains. The stand-pipe has a capacity of 100,000 gallons, and when it is full the 
pressure in the mains is 60 pounds to the square inch. There are two pumping-stations -, twenty-one 
artesian wells, fourteen miles of mains, and pumpin.s; machinery of the most approved type: and the total 
cost of the system, including the sum of S6,ooo paid for the wells and mains purchased from Mr White, 
exceeds Sioo.ooo. 

The water-works have (contrary to general expectation) been self-sustaining from the first and could 
not be bought to-day for double their actual cost. Coining from a depth so great as to prevent even the 
slightest danger of surface contamination, the water is exceptionally pure and wholesome, and after 
exhaustive analysis by Prof. Cook, State geologist, and by other expert chemists, it has been invariably 
pronounced clear, colorless, bright and sparkling; entirely free from organic matter, and absolutely pure 
and healthful. 



ASBURV PARK AXD ITS POIXTS OF IX TERES T. 



ASBURV PARK"S HKALTH FULNESS. 

It i.s easy enough to claim that a place is e.xceplionally heallhful, but it is by no means so easy to 
prove the claim, even when it is fully justified by the facts, for proof involves the use of figures, and 
although " figures don't lie," it is notorious that ihey can be so manipulated b\- experts as to seem to 
prove almost anything. Of Asbury Park we say: It has a delightful climate ; the drainage is perfect; 




THIRD AVE.NUE. 



the water and the air are pure ; the summer nights are cool and restful : the winter is milder here than at 
other places in the same latitude ; the pine-scented breezes from inland and the bracing winds from the 
sea are restorative and soothing; there is no swamp-land, no cold, wet soil and no malaria — for these and 
for other reasons Asbury Park is one of the most healthful as well as oiie of the most beautiful places on 
the continent.'' This we know is absolutely true, but in proof we can oiTer only the testimony of every 
one acquainted with the town, and the wonderfully low death-rate as shown by the following figures: 

Kate per i,ooo among resident population (iSgo) 8.^3 

Rate per 1,000 among non-resident population (1S90) 1.30 

or one death in iiS of resident and one death in 771 of transient population. 

Last year (1891) the results were as follows : 

Rate per 1,000 among resident population S.94 

Kate per 1,000 among non-resident population .93 

Or, if all the deaths during the year were charged to the resident population, estimating the latter at 3,800, the race 
would be but 16 p^r I.ooo. 

The ligures for the two veais cited are bv no means e.xceptionallv favorable, and are fairly representa- 
tive of Asbury Park mortality. Considering that many of the non-resident population are confirmed 
invalids and that a large proportion of the resident population is made up of elderl)' persons and of those 
who have come here to regain health, it must be admitted that the death-rate is phenomenally low, for 



J.SV.TA')- PARK AXJ) /'IS IVIXIS Ol- /XV/iKZ-S'/: :$ 

even leaving this consideraiioii entirely out of the reckoning tlie percentage of niorialiiy is very favorably, 
it being from iWLiUv-five in seveniy-livc per cent, lower than lluu of the leading cities of the Unili'd 
States. 

Many prominent physicians have spoken in the very highest terms of the healthfulncss of the place, 
and physicians of all schools agree that as a place of residence for infants and delicate children during the 
trying hot weather Asbnry Park has no equal on the Atlantic coast. 

l'.\RK HALL, rill-, CRAULK OF .VSULRVS 1 NSITIl I'iOXS. 

From the .Asbnry Park railway station, one sees on the opposite side of the pretty square, or as a 
Yankee would call it. the "common," containing the Goddess of Liberty statue, a two and a-half story 
frame building, brown in color and siuuioumed by a lilik' belfry. 

This building is not particularly large or attractive: on the contrary, it is small and dingy in compari- 
son with any of the numerous l)usiness structures recently erected in .\sbury Park, but it is well worthy of 
a visit and of special mention, for tiiis is Park ILdl— noteworthy as the cradle in which was nursed Asbury 
Park's schools, churches, fraternal societies and other public institutions. It was originally situated at 
the corner of i\Lain Street and Cookman Avenue, the site now occupied by the "Ocean Palace," but was 
removed to its present location years ago. In the words of Mr. Henry C. Winsor, president of the 
.\sburv Park and Ocean Grove National Bank: " F.verything had its inception al Park Hall ; here Mr. 
Bradlev started the first school at his own expense, in 1874 ; here the early church societies worshipped, 
and here the various fraternal organizations held their meetings until other halls were provided." 

The building is now occupied by the police department, health deparimeiil and oilier branches of the 
borough n-overnment, and the larire and airv basement contains two spacious cells for use on the conq)ara- 
tively rare occasions when it becomes necessary to place "drunks" or more serious if le.ss noisy 
offenders behind the bars to await trial. 

An example of how small it makes one feel to he put in ])rison is alTorded by the feat of two individ- 
uals who were phtced in a cell here in consequence of their having seriously assaulted a third party. 
News came to them that their victim had died, and so frightened were they at the prospect in store for 
them that they squeezed themselves out between the bars over the window and escaped, although there 
was barely six inches of space, and both were men of average size. They were .soon recaptured, but as 
the assaulted party was not permanenlly injured, after all, they escaped severe punishment. Additional 
bars have since been put up so that now even a " niidgi-t " would find difficulty in squeezing through the 
window. 

The basement is used as a court-room for the trial of ordinary cases : and jury trials and other legal 
cases of special importance are conducted in the large hall, on the top floor of the building. The inter- 
mediate floor is occupied by the borough officers, etc., and here may lie found various objects of interest, 
notably a fine collection of photographs of the pioneer residents of the place. 

Besides Park Hall there are many other Asbury P.irk buildings which deserve detaiit-d mention, as 
for instance the fine Monmouth building, the eleg.int structure formerly occiqiied by the .Asbury Park 
National Hank; together with a dozen more mercantile buildings, various hotel buildings, and some of the 
handsomest and most tasteful "cottages" on the New Jersey coast. But lack of space renders it impera- 
tive that these be passed by, and also forbids mention of the famous " Educational Hall," from the Cen- 
tennial Exposition, of the Asbury Park Auditorium, with acronnnodations for 4.500 people, of the 
pavilions, etc., on the beach front, of the commodious and substantial library building, of the hand.somest 
and most elaborately equipped "merry-go-round" building in New Jersey, and of other structures of 
greater or lesser note, including tlie eight church edifices, all of which are attractive and some of which 
are really beautiful. A long and interesting chapter might be written upon the residential buildings of 
the place, and in this connection mention should be made of the .\sbury Park Building .Association, the 
first financial organization in the borough. It was established in 1874, and its assets have increased 
from nothing to S75.000, and at the same time it has proved wonderfully efficient in aiding the legitimate 
development of the town. The financial needs of .Asbury Park and vicinity are admirably provided for, 



AS/n-RV /'.IKK A.Vn ITS POIXTS OF IXTEREST. 



and the capital, surplus and deposits of the local banking institutions now aggregate more than a million of 
dollars. 

And they need to be large and efficient, for the business interests of Asbury I'arl<, exclusive even of 
the hotel interests, are so extensive as to imperatively demand t^rst-class accommodations. Although not 
a manufacturing town, this place ships many goods to out-of-town customers, and doubtless it will surprise 
many of our readers to learn that a great deal of furniture is sent from here, some being sold by local 
dealers to residents of New York City itself. The largest carriage repository in the State is at Asbury 
Park; the lumber trade exceeds Sioo.ooo per annum and has done so for the past sixteen years, great 
dry goods stores, extensive stationery establishments, large fancy goods emporiums, the largest and best 
equipped livery and boarding stable in New Jersey— all these and many other extensive and prosperous 
enterprises are significant of the present import:ince of the borough and are prophetic of what it may 
reasonablv be expected to become in the near future. Already the out-of-toivn trade equals the local 
trade in average importance, and doubtless it will soon surpass it, for Asbury Park is the natural centre 
of supply for all the region adjacent, and the more rapidly and solidly that develops the more will this 
model borough prosper and expantl. 

Asbury Park is dependent upon no one thing for growth and support. 

Its exceptional natural advantages secure its sleadiiy increasing popularity as a health and pleasure 
resort ; its situation and the enterprise of its people ensure its future as a trade centre, and hold out 
e.xcellent promise of its future as a manufacturing centre, and the healthfulness and pleasantness of the 
climate, the character of the public improvements, and the nature of the population together with the 
beauty of the site combine to place Asbury Park in the very front rank as a place of permanent residence 
and a veritable " city b}' the sea." 





MAIN A\ I'.M i: I- ki iM IM.ANK WALK. 



ocEJ^nsr G-i?-o^v^E. 




CEAX (jROVE and Asbury Park are so intimately associated in the public 
mind that the individual character of the two places is commonly lost 
sight of, and thev are considered as but dilTerent parts of the same 
connnunity, like Philadelphia and Germantown, or like New York and 
Harlem, and vet Ocean Grove and Asbury Park are so far from being 
identical in i;overninent, in character and in object that they differ much 
more radically than do New York and Boston ; or Chicago and Philadel- 
phia. 

The result of this jiopular misapprehension is that both jjlaces are often 
severely criticised when neither is really at fault, and when a better understanding of the 
facts in the case would not onlv avert condemnation but would draw forth praise in place of 

blame. 

The character of Asbury Park is set forth in detail in the descriptive sketch forming a 
portion of this book, but for convenience of comparison let us sa\- here that Asbury Park is 
essentially a secular commuuitv. and that although the standard of morality is high and great care 
is taken "to exclude objectionable residents and demoralizing institutions, there is no intimate asso- 
ciation of " church and state " in its government, and no claim is made that the surroundings 
and general " atmosphere " of the place are more religious than those of any other carefully 
and ably-governed Christian community. 

The general character of Ocean Grove may be judged from the announced object of -'The 
Ocean Grove Camp-meeting Association, of the Methodist Episcopal Church," to use the legal 
title of the society by which Ocean Grove is absoluiely controlled, — "To provide for the holding 
of camp meetings of an elevated character, especially for the promotion of Christian holiness; 
and to afford those who would sjaend a few weeks at the seashore, an opportunity to do so at 
moderate cost, free from the temptations to dissipation usually found at fashionable watering 
places." 



OCEAX GROVE AXD ITS POIXTS OF IXTEREST. 



That tells the whole story. To be sure the "Grove," as it is always called by those 
who have visited it, has developed immeasurably beyond the utmost expectations of those who 
drew up the by-laws from which the preceding extract was taken, and it is an open secret that 
a small but aggressive minority of the summer residents consists of those who find llie regula- 
tions of the place irksome, although not sufficiently so as to cause them to prefer some other 
watering-place, but to quote from a late article in the Philadelphia Evening Bulh'tiu, " This 
class are intruders. Ocean Grove was founded, as the Pilgrims founded Plymouth, for a refuge 
and a waihering-place, where those who believed in strict religious rules and ceremonies might 
assemble and enjoy a season of mingled rest and devotion, not troubling the world and not 
troubled by it. Its founders would have been only too 
glad to let the outside public alone if the public would 
let them alone." 

In corroboration of the Bulk-tin's words let us quote 
briefly from a description of the origin of the Grove 
given by Dr. Stokes, president of the association : " A 
few of us proposed, in the simplest and most unostenta- 
tious way, to assemble from year to year, and enjoy a 
summer rest in bathing, fishing, worshipping, or saunter- 
ing socially along the shore, free from the heavy cares 
which we felt resting on us, welcoming from the immediate 
neighborhood such as might choose to join us in our 
simple service by the sea. It was no speculation — no 
scheme for raising money ; no device of any kind ; but 
simply and singly social, recreative and religious — mainly 
excepting the few neighbors who might desire to wor- 
ship with us, for ourselves alone. The great world we 
did not seek but shunned. • we wanted simply to rest and 
recuperate." 

And as long as we have touched upon the subject 
of Ocean Grove's origin a few words concerning its early 

history will not be amiss. The grounds were first visited in February. 1868, but choice was 
not definitely made until the following summer, at which time from Gieat Pond (now Deal 
Lake) the northward boundary of the present Asbury Park, to Shark River, four miles south, 
the country was almost uninhabited. On the grounds now owned by the Canip-meeiing .Asso- 
ciation there were but four inhabitants, and on the site of .Asbury Park there was not a single 
one. 

After the formal ion of the association, a part of the Grove was cleared from underbrush, 
lots were staked out, and a hundred subscribers for them at S50 each were soon obtained. 
June J, 1870, the subscribers came to pick out their lots, and by mutual agreement priority of 
choice was determined by auction sale, the privilege of first choice going to the highest bidder, 
and so on until all the lots were disposed of. "Founder" Bradley secured the first choice bv 
paying $86, and the lot chosen by him remains vacant to this day. 

Some of the lots on the ocean-front brought but S51, including price and premium, and 
have since been sold for $1,500, or an amount the equal to aggregate of premiums received at the 
first auction sale, although that was considered a great success. 

The first cottage was built in 1870, and before the close of that vear there were sixty cot- 
tages erected; but they were small when compared with the average cottage of to-day, and for 
more than a decade the great majority of the summer residents lived under canvas — hence 
Ocean Grove's once familiar name, '"The City of Tents." Even now many tents are utilized, 
the association owning about 250. and many being owned and used by private parties; but most 




OCEAN GKOr/i AM) ITS JV/XTS OE JXJhKJiS'J: 



29 



of the tents are utilized in connection witii a frame house for a kiiclien, and Ocean Grove as a whole 
bears very little resemblance to a typical camp-nieeiing ground; for the wide, slrai;y;ht and smooth 
streets are bordered by suhsianii.d .iml in many cases handsome elaborate collages, set in the niicUt 
of velvety turf and bright tiowers ; there are twenty-seven miles of sidewalk paved with concrete 
or blue-stone ; there are numerous electric-lights along every street, about 1,000 being used 



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altogether, and there are watering-carts, uniformed policemen, and other miscellaneous but 
unmistakable evidences of a public service worthy of a city. Resides, there are many less con- 
spicuous but not less valuable accommodations, such as those afforded by a thorough system of 
sewerage ; an abundant supply of pure water from artesian wells, an efficient fire-department, 
and other city belongings. Indeed, for a goodly portion of the year Ocean Grove ts a ciiy, 
that is to say a city devoid of factories, bar rooms, theaters, organ-grinders, peddlers, ragmen, 
Sunday papers, and tobacco. 

The site of Ocean Grove includes all the land from Wesley Lake on the north to Fletcher 
Lake on the south, and from the sea to Long Branch turnpike — the total area being about 300 
acres, or about three-fifths of that of Asbnry Park. There is a frontage of considerably more 
than half a mile upon the ocean: there being two bathing grounds upon the magnificent beach, 
one at either extremity of the famous 3,100 foot plank-walk extending from Fletcher to Wesley 
Lake and there joining the mile or so of plank-walk within Ashury Park limits. 



30 



OCEAX GKOi-E AXD ITS POIXTS OF IXTEREST. 



Tlie entire tract is 
divided into generally ob- 
long " blocks " by broad, 
straight streets, crossing 
each other at right angles 
and there are several parks 
and a great square space 
reserved for slables and 
hitching grounds, as in 
most other " camp-meetiuy; " 
grounds. 

Tlie great " meetings " 
for which Ocean Grove is 
especially famous were for- 
merly held on the beacli, 
and later under canvas, 
but are now generally 
held in the " Auditorium " 
a vast structure, capable 
of accommodating six or 
seven thousand people, but 
not a bit too large for 
the purposes for wiiich it 
is utilized, as audiences of 
three thousand or so are 
everyda)' affairs at the 
Grove during the season, 
while gatherings of four, 
five and even six thousand 
are b\- no means uncom- 
mon. 

It is said that eight 
thousand persons heard the 
sermon delivered in this 
auditorium .August 23, iSgi, 
by Rev. Dr. Talmage. Be- 
sides the Auditorium there 
are various smaller places 
of meeting, such as the 
Tabernacle, the Young Peo- 
ple's Temple, St. Paul's 
Church, and Thornley 
Chapel. Of the Ocean 
Grove gatherings it has 
been written : 

" Thousands of relig- 
ious people of all persua- 
sions come from far and 
wide to attend these Meth- 
odist meetings. Manv of 
the most gifted ministers nf 




OCEAN GROl'E AXD / 7'S /'O/.VfS OI- L\Ti:KliST. 



w 



the gospel from all parts 
of the United States and 
Canada, attend and lead in 
the services, and there can 
be but few ministers who 
have not been there, or do 
not hope to go at some 
future time. These meet- 
ini;s in the vast Auditori\nn 
are a grand sight to be- 
hold. Here seated in the 
open air with simply a roof 
over their heads, is found 
a great and earnest multi- 
tude worshipping God and 
raising their voices together 
in one glad song of prai.se. 
The beach meetings are 
also well worth coming long 
distances to see and to 
attend. On every pleasant 
Sunday afternoon they are 
held on the shores of the 




YOUNG PEOl'I.E'S TKMI' 




rHE HATHINfi I'AVII.ION 



ocean and are attended by thou- 
sands who sit. lie, or stand on 
the sand." 

But such of our readers as 
have never visited the Grove may 
jump to the conclusion that the 
presence of such vast crowds in- 
volves considerable disorder, con- 
fusion, noise and destruction of 
property. Well, in almost any other 
jilace than Ocean Grove. this 
would doubtless be the case ; but 
offences against persons or prop- 
eriv are of very rare occurrence 
here, and the following extracts 
from an editorial in the Trenton 
'J'nif Amcritan. iieaded, "A Re- 
markable Local Government " will 
go far to su]iport this assertion : 

"In all the vast crowds which 
gathered at the various places of 
worship and that thronged the 
streets of the town throughout the 
(lav and evening, there was not a 
single case of disorder reported, nor 
any occasion given for the arrest of 
any person for misconduct. This 
peaceful condition was not obtained 



32 OCEAA- GROr/i AND ITS POINTS OP INTERPST. 

as Napoleon III. made peace in France, by an exhibition of force. There was but one soli- 
tary policeman in uniform, and two or three in citizen's dress, and their duties were mainly 
confined to the giving of information when it was sought by strangers." 

We have dwelt especially upon the characteristics of Ocean Grove as a religious centre, for 
these are what chiefly distinguish it from otifer summer-resorts, but there are other character- 
istics which it possesses in common with them, or at least with the best of them, such, ■ for 
instance, as beautiful scenery, pure air, unlimited opportunities for healthful surf-bathing, fresh 
and salt water fishing, boating, yachting, driving, walking, bycicling, sociability, etc. 




THE BEACH AT LOW TIDE. 



Week days are lively enough, wliat with boating and fishing in the beautiful lakes or in the 
ocean, promenading along the celebrated plank-walks or engaging in some of the many other popu- 
lar recreations here available; and if any of our readers look upon Ocean Grove as a "dead 
place" they are sadly in error, for a livelier or more enjoyable resort for those who hold decent 
ideas concerning aniusemenls can hardly be found anywhere. There is quite a large permanent 
population and there are several strictly first-class hotels here, besides many lower in grade and 
correspondingly lower in price, and many excellent boarding-houses, and the summer pop- 
ulation is fairly representative of the republic, every State in the -Union being more or less 
largely represented. 




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=■* INDIANA 



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